Missouri Along With Tennessee Works On Making “Don’t Say Gay” Bills Into Law

Not more than two days after Tennessee advanced its infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill that would eliminate discussions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in public schools, prohibit teachers from addressing bullying based on sexual orientation, and likely ban gay-straight alliances. The state of Missouri has now introduced a bill that exactly mirrors it.

HB 2051 states: 170.370. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.

The Missouri bill is sponsored by Rep. Stanley Cookson (R) and has attracted 19 GOP co-sponsors, including Speaker Steve Tilley and Majority Leader Tim Jones (the same Tim Jones who is a plaintiff in Orly Taitz’ birther lawsuits) and has advanced to the Missouri House education committee.

“Filing this bill is a desperate tactic by frightened, bigoted, cynical individuals who are terrified at the advancement the LGBT community has made in breaking down the barriers to full and equal treatment under the law. It’s clear that this proposed bill does nothing to protect students. In some way, however, these enemies of Freedom of Speech have done us a favor. By attempting to coerce teachers and students into making this core reality of our lives literally unspeakable, they have only proved why LGBT students need greater, better, and stronger protection in our schools.” states ,” said A.J. Bockelman, executive director of PROMO, the state’s leading gay rights advocate.

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Will Kohler is a noted LGBT historian, journalist and owner of Back2Stonewall.com. A longtime gay activist, Will fought on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic with ACT-UP and continues fighting today for LGBT acceptance and full equality. Will’s work has been referenced in notable media venues as MSNBC and BBC News, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Hollywood Reporter, and Raw Story,